The present invention relates in general to thermostatic controls and, in particular, to a new and useful multi-apartment remote time variable temperature regulator and recorder.
The present state of the art in controlling temperatures in apartment houses utilize outdoor temperature sensing devices. These devices control the length of hourly firings of the heating system, reducing the length of time when the temperature outdoors is high and increasing the length of time when low. As outdoor temperatures increase, apartments may not require additional heat for a period of up to 3 or 4 hours to sustain adequate temperatures. The outdoor temperature control system, lacking an indoor thermostat, is unable to sense whether heat requirements have been satisfied. The result is three or four unnecessary short cycle firings, causing tenants to open windows for relief from excessive heat and an enormous waste of energy. This is especially true during the spring and fall, when there may be no need for heat during daytime hours for up to six hours.
Thermostats, sensing the true indoor temperatures of apartments, are the only proper devices for regulating the heat for apartment houses with the greatest efficiency. However, landlords cannot prevent tampering of thermostat settings by tenants. They place ice cubes on locked thermostats, may open windows, or eliminate night temperature settings by turning the clock ahead 12 hours to day temperature settings. On the other hand, a tenant doing an exceptional amount of baking or entertaining a large group of people can produce excessive heat causing the thermostat to be satisfied resulting in heat complaints from the remaining tenants.
Also pertinent to understanding the present invention is the inventor's previous patent application Ser. No. 923,067 filed July 10, 1978 entitled Time Variable Thermostat now U.S. Pat. No. 4,180,789 which patent is incorporated here by reference to permit full understanding of the present invention.